Livestock farms help, not hurt, rural areas

Saturday

Apr 25, 2009 at 12:01 AMApr 25, 2009 at 7:17 AM

Editor, the Tribune: Ken Midkiff’s April 3 column on livestock was filled with so many misleading statements, it should have run two days earlier on April Fools’ Day. His goal was to fool readers into believing animal feeding operations are, as he put it, “an economic disaster for rural communities.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

Midkiff obviously has an agenda, and he never lets facts get in his way. Instead of mentioning how modern livestock farms support local communities by paying property taxes on farmland, equipment and livestock, he tries to link livestock and poultry operations with drive-by shootings, drug deals and abuse of children and spouses. It is a ridiculous idea, but anyone familiar with Midkiff and his anti-ag propaganda should not be shocked. This is his latest attempt to sling mud at hard-working farmers.

Modern family livestock farms have no influence on local residents who abuse their children and spouses or commit crimes. What those farms do influence is the amount of taxes provided to rural communities to help fund new bridges, roadwork and much-needed resources for local school districts. Missouri agriculture generates more than $5.6 billion in farm receipts annually; more than half of that comes from livestock farms. Don’t let Midkiff’s wild accusations fool you. Agriculture is the backbone of Missouri’s economy, and many rural communities would suffer greatly without the tax revenue generated by farmers.